6-year graduation rate report

Goal

Increase 6-year undergraduate graduation rates to above the average of peer institutions identified in the WSU Strategic Plan.

Current Data

The weighted averages for 2009/2015 year:

Strategic Plan Peers only: 72.86%

CMUP (25th ranked school in each category) only: 79.90%

CMUP and Strategic Plan peers (all): 75.82%

WSU most recent 6-year graduation tates:

2009/2015 = 64.2%

2010/2016 = 66.6%

2011/2017 = 62.4%

Assumptions

Graduation rates are calculated using first-time, full-time students. This metric includes students primarily at WSU Pullman and, secondarily, at WSU Tri-Cities and WSU Vancouver.

To the degree that 6-year graduation rates correlate to the academic profile of the incoming class, we do not expect significant gains on this metric until 2021.

Improved graduation rates are more than a by-product of more selective admission practice

Student success interventions and investment beyond improvement in the academic profile of first-time, full-time students will be required to meet target.

Success in achieving this target will require university-wide initiatives, as well as centrally coordinated and more customized targeted initiatives at the campus-level and college-level.

Activities

The activities to reach target will be coordinated by the WSU Student Success Council, which monitors and promotes undergraduate retention and academic progress initiatives for the university.

The Student Success Council will review data provided by the Drive to 25 6-Year Graduation Rates Action Team related to retention and graduation rates to measure progress toward the goal.

The Student Success Council will work directly with the Office of the Provost, Student Affairs, colleges and campuses to catalog, review and measure the success of initiatives designed to improve undergraduate retention and graduation rates. The activities will be consistent with the WSU Strategic Plan

Outcomes

More significant increases in 6-year graduation rates beginning in 2022

Measures

By 2030, 6-year undergraduate rates for WSU students, as reported through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), will exceed the average of peer institutions identified in the WSU Strategic plan.